Diamonds Are for Heather
"Diamonds Are for Heather" was the 8th episode of the 2nd series of Only Fools And Horses, airing on the 30th December 1982 with a viewing figure of 9.3 million. Synopsis It is mid November and Del has just been given the elbow by a girl he was seeing. It is Spanish Night at The Nag's Head and Del gets the Spanish singer to sing "Old Shep", although he is a Cockney with a convincing Spanish accent. The singer refuses to sing "Old Shep", but Del menaces him into singing it, so he reluctantly does so. After they sing the song Del sees a lovely woman sat at the bar, aged about 30. Del goes to chat her up. She introduces herself as Heather. Del chats her up and she says she lives in Brixton. Del asks her if she in interested in washing powder as he has been lumbered with lots of hooky Persil. Del takes Heather back to her flat and she tells him about her estranged husband Vic, who has not returned since joining a very long queue at the Job Centre 18 months earlier. Heather says she does not care about Vic any more, and that he was never cut out to be a husband. Then the babysitter arrives. Del mistakes him for Heather's husband until Heather explains that he is the babysitter. Brian, the babysitter leaves and Del offers to take Heather and her 3 year old son Darren out for the day round London. Heather is smitten with Del Boy. As he leaves, Del falls down the stairs. The next day Del takes her and Darren to London Zoo, Tower Bridge and a planetarium. Six weeks later, Rodney and Grandad are watching Del Boy play football with Darren in the adventure playground on the tower block estate. Del has put his and Heather's names on the top of the windscreen of his van, his name above the drivers seat and Heather's above the passenger seat. Rodney says it is embarrassing whenever he has to sit in the passenger seat. Grandad reckons people may think he is a poof. That night back at the flat, Del is getting ready to take Heather out. He explains that him and Heather have applied for a council house. As Del leaves Rodney says it was always on the cards, and that Del thinks the world of her son Darren, but Grandad is more worried about who will pay the rent on the flat if Del moves out. That night, Del and Heather are at an Indian Restaurant where he presents her with an engagement ring from his mate Abdul, a jeweller from Hatton Garden. He says it is to celebrate Christmas as well. Heather is flattered but is also upset. She explains that a week ago she got a letter from her estranged husband Vic, who had got a job and a flat in Southampton, and he wants her and Darren to move down there, and see if they can make things work this time. She feels she owes it to him as he is still her husband and is Darren's father. Del says she should not believe him but she explains that Vic was unemployed and stressed when he walked out and she has accepted an offer for a reconciliation. Del is heartbroken. He explains that he felt really strongly for Heather and she says she did not realise how strongly he felt for her. Heather says she leaves next week and asks Del if he will come round and say goodbye to Darren. Almost in tears, Del shakes his head, and says no. He then says he only had the ring on a weeks approval. Heather leaves the restaurant. Outside the restaurant a few minutes later Del walks to the van, and a choir is singing Silent Night. Del looks at the van and his and Heather's names on the top of the windscreen. The choir then sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and Del gives the choir conductor a tenner to sing "Old Shep" to cheer him up. As they sing, Del happily gets into his van and drives off into the night. Cast Main cast *Derek "Del Boy" Trotter - David Jason *Rodney Trotter - Nicholas Lyndhurst *"Grandad" - Lennard Pearce Guest cast *Spanish Dancer - John Moreno *Heather - Rosalind Lloyd *Darren - Uncredited *Brian - Roger Brierly *Tony The Waiter - Dev Sagoo Previous Episode Christmas Trees Next Episode Homesick Observations *The idea for the script was to demonstrate Del's love for children, and that he really could be a family man if he put his mind to it. *This episode saw the more vulnerable side to the usually cheery and brash Del Boy, especially the restaurant scene where Heather has to break the news to Del that she has accepted her husband's offer to get back together, and where she asks if Del will come and say goodbye to her son Darren, whom Del Boy saw as a son to him, in which an almost sobbing Del shakes his head, as he hates goodbyes, knowing he would never see Darren ever again. It would be too painful for Del to say goodbye to a surrogate son so he quietly refused. *Tony the waiter, is seen 2 episodes later in Healthy Competition, indicating Del met Towser in the same restaurant that he took Heather to. *If you look closely at the scenes of Del, Heather and Darren touring London, when Del is on the battleship with Darren, he is wearing the exact same clothes and chequered cap that he was wearing on the rowing boat scene on the Thames in Ashes to Ashes, which was the 2nd episode of this series. The scenes were probably filmed on the same day, as location filming for a whole series often took place before studio filming. *When Del gives Heather the ring, he says he got it from Abdul, a friend from Hatton Garden. This fits in with "To Hull and Back", as Del, Rodney, and Uncle Albert go to Holland for Boycie and Abdul. *14 years later in 1996, in Modern Men, it is revealed that Del has Old Shep on playing on his phone when he has people on hold. Diamonds Are for Heather and Modern Men are the only 2 episodes which reveal Del's love for "Old Shep". *The wallpaper in the Trotters flat was a zig-zag style, and was just seen in this episode. Blunders *During the dinner scene in the Indian restaurant, the shadow of a boom microphone can be seen on the wall behind Del and Heather's table. Locations seen *The Nags Head exterior *The Nag's Head (main bar) *Hallway outside Heather's flat *Heather's flat (living room) *London Docks (battleship, Tower Bridge) *London Zoo (monkey and birdcages) *Planetarium (interior, exterior) *Nelson Mandela House exterior *Play area outside Nelson Mandela House *The Trotters flat (living room) *Indian restaurant *Street outside Indian restaurant Category:Only Fools And Horses Episodes. Category:1982 episodes.